SA steel firm fined after beam breaks worker’s legs

An Adelaide steel fabricating firm has been convicted and fined by the Industrial Court over an incident which left a male worker with severe crush injuries to both legs.

M & I Samaras (No 1) had already pleaded guilty to breaching section 19(1) of the Occupational Health Safety and Welfare Act 1986 in that it failed to provide and maintain safe systems of work.

SafeWork SA prosecuted the firm after investigating an incident at the company’s premises in 2007. During the process of lifting a 3.6 tonne steel beam with a gantry crane, the beam struck a second of similar mass, knocking it over as a welder was working on it.

As a result, he became trapped between the second beam and other smaller beams nearby, sustaining serious crush injuries to his lower legs. The man has since returned to work at the business, albeit on restricted duties.

As a result of its investigation, SafeWork SA told the court that the company did not have:

• Adequate information, instruction, training and supervision for the task;
• A safe operating procedure for the use of gantry cranes to move loads;
• A requirement therefore to ensure that people were not in vicinity of the lift; and
• A requirement that the task only be done by those certified to do so, such that the lift was undertaken by two trade assistants who lacked qualifications for the task.

Industrial Magistrate Michael Ardlie acknowledged the company’s previous good record and assistance to its injured employee, but expressed surprise at the lack of a safe operating procedure and that neither employee operating the crane held the relevant qualifications. He further noted: “Clearly the [incident] was significant and given the size and weight of the beam, the potential for very serious injuries and indeed fatal injuries is in my view apparent.”

The magistrate imposed a conviction and fined the company $22,500 after a discount of 25% to acknowledge the guilty plea, contrition, assistance to its employee and remedial action.

SafeWork SA Acting Executive Director Juanita Lovatt said the risks of harm in heavy industry are ever present and safety in even the most fundamental tasks should never be taken for granted, adding: “A severe injury can change your life forever. As is so often the case, simple measures to find and fix hazards and write up the procedures before work begins would have prevented the harm.”